Manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes



Dec. 13, 1966 T. ROWLANDS MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 5, 1965 Dec. 13, 1966 T. ROWLANDS 329y974 MANUFACTUHE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Filed Mann s. 1965 2 sheets-sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,290,974 MANUFACTURE F MUUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Tom Rowlands, London, England, assignor to The Molins Organisation Limited, London, England, a corporation of Great Britain Filed Mar. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 437 ,493 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 20, 1964, 11,900/ 64 4 Claims. (Cl. 83--23) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes.

A well-known kind of mouthpiece cigarette is that in which a mouthpiece portion is secured end to end with a cigarette length by an encircling adhesive band which unites the two parts. The mouthpiece portion often consists of filtering material, such as bunched crepe paper, or such as cellulose acetate tow, for example, that known under the registered trademark Estron, enclosed in a tubular wrapper. For convenience, mouthpiece portions will hereinafter be referred to as stubs Such mouthpiece cigarettes are often made by placing two cigarette lengths end to end with a central stub which has twice the length required, enclosing these three parts in an encircling adhesive uniting band,` and cutting the resulting assemblage through the middle of the doublelength stub.

It has however been proposed to make these cigarettes by joining a single-length stub to a single cigarette length, by means of a comparatively narrow band which overlaps only enough of the stub and of the cigarette length to hold them securely together. This saves' material, and has the further advantage that 'the mouthpiece cigarettes can be initially assembled with their mouthpiece ends all pointing in the same direction, thus avoiding the need to turn half the cigarettes end for end subsequently.

Stubs are usually made by a continuous rod process, and for convenience in manufacture and handling, the continuous rod is usually cut into lengths each of which is a multiple of the length required for an individual stub. During the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes, these multiple lengths of stub rod are subdivided. For example, where double length stubs are to be assembled with cigarettes, a sextuple length of rod would be cut into three double lengths. This subdivision is often effected by disc knives while the multiple lengths are being conveyed sideways from a hopper towards the assembling mechanism.

Although this subdivision by disc knives produces clean, smooth end faces, it is sometimes found that the end faces of the original multiple lengths, produced by cutting an axially moving rod, are not entirely satisfactory, due in some cases to the nature of the material which is not always easy to cut cleanly during axial movement of the rod. When double length stubs are being assembled with cigarettes, these defects are of no importance because all the end faces of all the double length stubs will be abutted against cigarette lengths and will therefore not be visible. When single length stubs are to be joined to single cigarettes lengths, however, the situation is different. Assuming that the assembly of stubs and cigarettes is to be effected by arranging the parts in the order: cigarette-stub-cigarette--stub, etc., so as to obtain the advantage that the mouthpiece cigarettes when produced all have their mouthpiece ends pointing in the same direction, then in each multiple length of stub rod, one of the two end faces will constitute the exposed end face of a finished mouthpiece cigarette.

It will be understood that by the term single length stub is meant a stub which is not intended to be subdivided in any subsequent operation. Such a stub may form the sole mouthpiece portion of a mouthpiece cigarette, but the term is not intended to exclude a case in which the stub forms the endmost component of a mouthpiece cigarette having a composite mouthpiece consisting of more than one stub, or of a stub and some other kind of component, such as a tube.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method in the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes by assembling single length stubs with individual cigarette lengths, which comprises subdividing a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, and turning end for end one of the end stubs of the row.

Further according to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, means for subdividing a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, and means to turn end for end one of the end stubs of the row.

The invention further provides means to subdivide a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, means to feed said row endwise, and means to turn end for end an end stub (e.g. the leading stub) of said row while the latter is moving endwise.

The last-named means may comprise a movable, eg., rotatable, member having a projection adapted to be moved into engagement with the upper part of the cylindrical surface of the said end stub of the row at a position near one end and to tilt the stub to a substantially upright position, and a further projection adapted to engage the substantially upright stub at the opposite part of the said surface near the other end, and to tilt the stub further so that it comes to rest on its cylindrical surface but with its orientation reversed.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of stub-feeding mechanism in apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes;

FIGURES 2 and 3 each show a portion of FIGURE l but with the parts in different positions, and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional end view.

The mechanism shown in FIGURE l is similar to the mechanism disclosed in British patent specification No. 770,173 for feeding stubs. A lluted rotating conveyor 1 carries multiple lengths of stub rod which are subdivided by disc knives (not shown) to form rows each consisting of six single length stubs S. It will be understood that the number of stubs into which a rod length is divided depends on the required length of a stub and the length of the stub rod length, and the present arrangement in which the rod length is divided into six single length stubs is only one example.

Successive rows of stubs are pushed endwise out of their utes by pushers 2 on a chain conveyor 3 which moves transversely of the conveyor 1 but with a component in the direction of movement of the lowermost part of the conveyor 1, so that a pusher 2 can pass through a flute while the conveyor 1 continues to rotate, as disclosed in British patent specication No. 770,173. The successive rows are pushed along a guideway 4 and a further channel-shaped guideway 5 towards means which separate the stubs endwise, as will be described later.

As seen in FIGURE 1, the pushers 2 are spaced apart suciently to leave a gap between the leading stub S of a row, and the preceding pusher.

A top guide 6 is arranged in the channel-shaped guide 5 to assist in controlling the stubs as they are pushed forwardly.

Beyond the top guide 6 and mounted above the guide 5 is a rotatable disc-like member 7 arranged to rotate in the direction of the arrow shown on it. This member is Shaped so as to have two projections 8 and 9, and is recessed at 10 between the two projections. The projection 8 extends far enough from the axis of the member 7 to be able to dip down into the channel 5 a little lower than the upper surfaces of the stubs S, and is timed to engage the upper part of the cylindrical surface of the leading stub S1 of a row just behind the leading edge of the latter. Thus on continued rotation of the member 7 the projection 8 tilts the stub forwardly about its lower most forward edge so as to bring it to a substantially upright position, as shown in FIGURE 2. This is made possible by the provision of the recess 10 which can accommodate the upper part of the upright stub. Then the projection 9 engages the cylindrical surface of the upright stub and tilts the stub forward, as shown in FIGURE 3, so that the stub falls on to its cylindrical surface, its orientation having been reversed.

Subsequently the stubs are in succession lifted from the guide 5 by spokes 11 on a disc 12, and pass up a ramp 13 into a channel 14, in which they are successively engaged by accelerating pushers 15 by which they are spaced apart endwise. The stubs are then fed into mechanism whereby they are associated with cigarette lengths, with stubs alternating with cigarette lengths, and are eventually joined to cigarette lengths by means of narrow encircling adhesive bands each 0f which joins one stub to one cigarette length.

It will be seen that in FIGURE l, both the leading stub S1 and the rearmost stub S2 of a row are end stubs of the row and thus their leading and rearmost end faces, respectively, may be defective as a result of the continuous stud rod having been cut while moving axially, as explained above. In the present arrangement it is intended that each cigarette length to be united with a stub shall be abutted against the rear end face of the stub, as considered in the direction of movement of the stubs in FIGURE 1. Thus the rear end face of the rearmost stub S2 of a row will lie against an end of a cigarette length, and any minor imperfection in that end face of the stub will be of no importance because it will not be visible. The leading end face of the leading stub S1 of the row will, however, be visible in the completed mouthpiece cigarette, and it is for that reason that it is inverted and turned end for end as described above.

In a case where it is desired, for manufacturing convenience, that the leading end of a stub (considered in the direction of movement of stubs in FIGURE l) should be abutted against a cigarette length, the rearmost stub S2 of the row may be turned end for end. This could be done, for example, by lifting the stub S2 and replacing it behind the pusher 2, and turning it end for end while doing so.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method in the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes by assembling single length stubs with individual cigarette lengths, which comprises subdividing a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, and turning end for end an end stub only of the row while maintaining the orientation of the other stubs in the row.

2. In apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, means for subdividing a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, and means to turn end for end an end stub only of the row while maintaining the orientation of the other stubs in the row.

3. In apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes, means to subdivide a length of stub rod to form a row of single length stubs, means to feed said row endwise, and means to turn end for end an end stub only of said row while the latter is moving endwise.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the said means to turn an end stub comprises a movable member having a projection adapted to be moved into engagement with the upper part of the cylindrical surface of the said end stub of the row at a position near one end and to tilt the stub to a substantially upright position, and a further projection adapted to engage the substantially upright stub at the opposite part of the said surface near the other end, and t0 tilt the stub further so that it comes to rest on its cylindrical surface but with its orientation reversed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,356,120 8/1944 Slightam 198-33 2,677,452 5/1954 Mallow et al. 198-33 3,088,359 5/1963 Schur 83--411 3,166,177 1/1965 Laverty 198-33 3,215,250 11/1965 Schubert 198-33 ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner.

L. B. TAYLOR. Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES BY ASSEMBLING SINGLE LENGTH STUBS WITH INDIVIDUAL CIGARETTE LENGTHS, WHICH COMPRISES SUBDIVIDING A LENGTH OF STUD ROD TO FORM A ROW OF SINGLE LENGTH STUBS, AND TURNING END FOR END AN END STUB ONLY OF THE ROW WHILE MAINTAINING THE ORIENTATION OF THE OTHER STUDS IN THE ROW. 